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• write-off
  write-off

  noun

  a cancellation from the accounts as a loss.
• write off
  write off

  verb

  accounting

write-off

American  

[rahyt-awf, -of] / ˈraɪtˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

• write-offs
  plural

1. a cancellation from the accounts as a loss.

2. an uncollectable account.

3. a reduction in book value; depreciation.

4. Informal. a person or thing that is given up as hopeless or pointless.

   Joe's college career is a write-off.

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write off British  

verb

1. accounting

   1. to cancel (a bad debt or obsolete asset) from the accounts

   2. to consider (a transaction, etc) as a loss or set off (a loss) against revenues

   3. to depreciate (an asset) by periodic charges

   4. to charge (a specified amount) against gross profits as depreciation of an asset

2. to cause or acknowledge the complete loss of

3. to send a written order for (something)

   she wrote off for a brochure

4. informal to damage (something, esp a car) beyond repair

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noun

1. accounting

   1. the act of cancelling a bad debt or obsolete asset from the accounts

   2. the bad debt or obsolete asset cancelled

   3. the amount cancelled against gross profits, corresponding to the book value of the bad debt or obsolete asset

2. informal something damaged beyond repair, esp a car

write off Idioms  

1. Reduce an asset's book value to zero because it is worthless, as in The truck was wrecked completely, so we can write it off . [Late 1600s]

2. Cancel from an account as a loss, as in Since they'll never be able to pay back what they owe, let's just write off that debt . [Late 1800s] Also see charge off , def. 2.

3. Regard as a failure or worthless, as in There was nothing to do but write off the first day of our trip because of the bad weather , or She resented their tendency to write her off as a mere housewife . [Late 1800s]

4. Amortize, as in We can write off the new computer network in two years or less . Also see charge off , def. 2.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• write-offs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of write-off

First recorded in 1745–55; noun use of verb phrase write off

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

write-off write off write-offs

Yet the quarterly tax write-off from shelving Coyote vs.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

The studio also announced that they were scrapping the finished film for a $30 million tax write-off.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Likewise, Andy’s story starts when a magnate shutters her current job at a newspaper called the New York Vanguard, firing her and her colleagues for a $500-million tax write-off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

Profit edged higher as strong revenue growth was partially offset by a write-off linked to the collapse of a U.K. mortgage finance company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Throughout the civilized world, from Battery Park to Fulton Street, he was known as a dependable man for a fast tax write-off.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

This would allow taxpayers to fully write off the cost of an investment in the year that it becomes available for use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Bosses and recruiters often write off frequent job hoppers as unreliable flight risks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The first days of the holiday "have been a complete write off", she added.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk flags this chart that shows how investors shouldn’t write off all software as vulnerable to AI disruption.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

It amazed Justin how easily they would write off a twelve-year-old.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

What you get: 100 hours in the air annually on domestic and international flights aboard your shared jet, along with other benefits that can include tax write-offs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Can I get tax write-offs for my time and costs?

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

The organisation has drawn up a blueprint for manufacturers, with a list of recommendations to keep repairs as simple and affordable as possible and to avoid unnecessary write-offs.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Congress should make write-offs for investments in structures permanent, too.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

As for external debt, the burden was sharply reduced by reschedulings and write-offs of both private and official debt during 1991-94.

From The 1996 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Related Words

• cancel
• give up
• lower